Derrick-bracing means.



F. E. FOSTER.

DERRIGK BRAGING MEANS.

APPLIOATION FILED Manz?, 1909.

937,299. l Patented 0c.19,19o9.

MAE

PATENT OFFICE.

L FRANK E. FOSTER, F SAPULPA, OKLAHOMA.

DERRICKBRAGING MEANS.

Specification of Letters Patent..

Patented Oct. 19, 1.909.

Application :tiled March 2*?, 1909. Serial No. 486,207.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known-that I, FRANK E. FOSTER,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Sap'ulpa, in the county of Creek and State of Oklahoma, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Derrick- Bracing Means, of which the following is a -specilication.

Out in the western portion of our country thousands of oil derricks are blown down yearly by the high winds which sweep across the country. Various means have been employed in order to brace derrick structures of this type, such means hein more or less simple, but up to the present time no devices used have been practical or sufficient for the desired purpose.

'Ihe present invention consists of eX- tremely simple bracing means which can be readily applied to derricks which are commonly in use, and which is efficient for preventing the breaking in half and blowing down of derricks by the high winds before 4referred to. 25 The invention consists primarily in peculiar anchoring devices secured to the frame work of the derrick in such a way as to effectively brace and support the latter.

For a full understanding of the -invention, reference is to be had to the following detail description and to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ordinary form of oil derrick showing the invention applied thereto, certain crossed braces of the frame-work of the derrick being omitted; Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view showing more clearly just how the longitudinal bracing cables contact with the braces and frame-work of the derrick construction, and Fig. 3 is a transverse section bringing out the arrangement of the bracing cables more clearly. A

Throughout the following detail description and on the several figures of the drawings similar parts are referred to by like reference characters.

Particularly describing the invention and referring especially to the illustrationthereof in the drawings, the letter A designates the derrick proper, and the letter B the top portion thereof. The derrick comprises the ordinary construction and arrangement of parts including the corner post l and the -55 diagonal braces 2 which are located at intervals in the frame work of the derrick and between the horizontal bars that connect the corner posts in the customary way.

The bracing means included within the invention consists of vertical cables designated 3 one or more of said cables bein located at each side of the derrick, an being peculiarly arranged and connected with the top of the derrick, and anchoring means at the base thereof. A hook 4 hav- 65 ing an eye 4a attached to the upper end of the cable 3 is adapted to engage over the top of the derrick and secure the cable thereto at this portion of thestructure. At its lower end the cable 3 is secured to an eye 70v of a screw rod 6 which forms a part of the turnbuckle device 5. Th'e other screw rod 7 of the turnbuckle device has an eye at the lower end adapted to engage'with a hook 8 which is secured in anysubstantial way 75 to a sill or anchor 9 at, the base of the derrick. The provision of the turnbuckle device 5 enables the owner of tl.e derrick to properly adjust the tension of the cable 3 for most effective reinforcement of the derrick.

There being one of the bracing cables located at each side of the derrick it will be observed that the structure is reinforced,

braced, or anchored from all sides against lwinds blowing from any direction. An es-85 sential feature of the invention resides in the peculiar arrangement of the cables whereby the same contact with the braces 2 at the, sides of the derrick and all the way down the structure. Contacting relation of the bracing cables 3 with the braces 2 is secured by a proper arrangement of the anchors or sills 9 with which the cables are connected at their lower ends. It has been found that the bracing cables arranged in the peculiar manner before described, are far more eective than guy wires connected with the derrick in the usual way, and hence the desirability of the present. invention over prior devices for the same purpose.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new7 is:

In combination, a derrick embodying corner posts and horizontal braces connecting said posts together, and bracing means including a lurality of vertical cables arranged vertlcally with reference to the derrick, a cable being located between each pair of corner posts and in approximately parallel relation thereto, the said cables being in contact with the horizontal braces, anchorin members located beneath the derrick an l adjacent to each side thereof, turn buckle connections between said anchoring members and the cabl adjacent thereto, and members detachably connecting the upper ends of the cables with the'head or top portion of the derrick.

Q In testimony whereof I aix my signature 1n presence of two witnesses.

FRANK E. FOSTER.

Witnesses:

MARY M. HOKE, W. F. COLLINS. 

